Does anyone give you a hard time for riding a 250?

[Marunui]

Hi yeah some guyz I know think 250 bikes r for girls but they don't ride just all talk and couldn't even handle a 125 any way all good I think 250 iz a great bike

[Water Warrior 2]

A Harley sportster is also called a girls bike.
Armchair critics should be willing to put their money where their mouth is and buy you a bigger bike.
Your choice of bike may not be theirs but it is your bike and likely paid for in full. My Vstrom was fully paid for in 2005 when I bought it new. I was sometimes embarrassed that it was only a 650 but soon discovered it was a great choice. Bigger is not always better. I had considered the Vstrom 1000.
Think about insurance rates, miles per gallon and weight to control and smaller looks gooder and gooder. Can you lift an 800 lb bike that you dropped in a parking lot? I can't.
Ride what makes you happy, not what some of the public says. Any real rider will never bitch about your ride, he or she will just be happy to know you are out there in the wind.

[JohnC]

A Sportster is really not a good choice for a "girl's bike". The center of gravity is quite high. A low rider is a much better choice even though it is a 1200 cc engine. I think there is/was also a low version of the Sportster, which would be a better choice.


From the DC bike show:

Photo by member Magbhw of the triumphrat forum.

[Goose51683]

Impressive!

[Water Warrior 2]

Originally Posted by shaunCW78

Who cares what other people think, ride what you want. Thats the way i think anyway.

Your thinking applies to most things in life. We spend too much time in our lives listening to others and not enough time listening to ourselves. Always reserve the Right to make your own mistakes as they will likely cost less than other's ideas of what you should be doing.

[ImaginativeFig]

I get shit for riding a 250 for sure, but I get a fair amount of condescension from losers anyway.
I guess whenever people ask me what kind of bike I ride, I always play it all humble like "Oh, it's only a 250, it's a baby cruiser." People will either:

• agree that it's pretty little, but at least not in a "WHAT? ONLY A 250?! What are you, a baby?" Kind of way,
• or they'll be like "Oh, that's cool/good, (especially for beginners.)"
• or, if I'm talking to anyone in Japan or Thailand (both of which I've studied abroad in), they're super impressed like, "What? Only a 250? That's a pretty big bike here!"

There's a lot less distinction between motorcycles and scooters over there (in fact, in Thai, I'm pretty sure they're both "motersai")

[alantf]

motorcycles vs scooters is pretty much the same over here. The majority of people ride the 50cc scooters. Then there are a few boy racers on crotch rockets, a few older guys on big cruisers, then people like us on smaller cruisers. so, between us smaller bikes and scooters, we way outnumber the bigger bikes. It's a small island, so people tend to ride what's best suited to the conditions, not what they think will impress folks.

[5th_bike]

250 cc is a lot.

[emory70]

haters gonna hate. before i bought my geezer, my then boss (a Scotsman) did his best to convince me to not get a "poof chariot." never got the exact definition, but i can figure it out. after a mild chop (4" z bars, no front fender, cut rear fender, and other minor mods), i rode it from here in Jacksonville to Marion, NC and back. that's 500 miles one way. as long as it's running, i'd take my bike anywhere.

[Water Warrior 2]

More proof you don't need 1,000CCs to get out of town.